This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Maple Leafs: James Reimer proving critics wrong

The Leafs goalie last week beat Martin Brodeur, Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price, three world-class netminders, in continuing a personal hot streak that has seen him lose in regulation only twice in his last 19 games.

Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer has lost only twice in regulation in his last 19 games.
(Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

The Maple Leafs goalie last week beat Martin Brodeur, Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price, three world-class netminders, in continuing a personal hot streak that has seen him lose in regulation only twice in his last 19 games.

“It’s cool to play those guys. They’re great goalies and have shown it for many years,” said Reimer. “It’s fun to play against them, but at the same time, it’s more our shooters against them than me against them.”

It wasn’t that long ago that the hockey world snickered when former GM Brian Burke said he believed Reimer had the ability to be a bona fide No. 1 goalie. More recently, the team went on a very public hunt for a veteran goalie. To have listened to the speculation, Roberto Luongo and Miikka Kiprusoff were supposed to have been Leafs by now.

Remember that it was Ben Scrivens, not Reimer, who beat the Montreal Canadiens in the season opener.

Article Continued Below

Reimer has at once beaten all comers to the Leafs’ netminding throne while silencing his critics, who remember the disastrous 2011-2012 season that overshadowed his impressive rookie campaign the year before.

Some might see the trade whispers as a management motivational tool, something to give Reimer a chip on his shoulder for the stretch drive when the team needs goaltending the most. Reimer doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think I’ve changed much,” said Reimer. “I come to the rink and prepare the same way, whether we won five in a row or we lost five in a row.

“Whether there’s rumours or no rumours, I want to be honest with myself and work as hard as I can. I don’t know if I’m playing with any chip on my shoulder.”

Reimer’s impressive 36-save performance Saturday was almost an afterthought in the wake of Toronto’s 5-1 win over Montreal. Maybe it’s because Reimer is making a habit of stopping a lot of shots.

The Leafs are routinely outshot, making Reimer the busier of the two goalies on the ice on any given evening. The Leafs have been outshot in 30 of their 41 games and have a league-best 18-7-5 record to show for it.

A big part of that success is Reimer, who has essentially shown that his downer of a season last year was attributable either to his early-season head injury — variously described as a concussion or whiplash — or simply a sophomore slump.

“He’s been great,” said defenceman Cody Franson. “He’s competed very hard for us and given us great chances to win games. I think he’s feeling it again, back to himself, and it’s showing. He’s made a lot of big saves at key times.”

Of course, it’s not just goaltending. The team plays a tighter version of defence this year, one in which they collapse around the net and keep the opposition shooting from the perimeter in less dangerous and less likely scoring zones.

“If you look at their (the opposition’s) quality scoring chances, a lot of it is coming from the outside,” said Franson. “We try to do our best to make sure Reimer can see everything. If he can make those easy saves from the outside . . . I don’t think it matters how many shots he faces.”

Reimer has played seven in a row (5-1-1) and is 13-2-5 going back to Feb. 7 (a stretch that includes missing seven games due to injury).

“Things are going well for us as a team,” said Reimer. “As a goalie you reap the benefits. I feel like I’m playing good. But I feel like the team is playing great.

“It’s good to get games. It’s been a fun couple of weeks. Hopefully we can just keep on rolling.”

He has clearly emerged as the team’s No. 1 goalie for the playoffs.

“I would say every team would like to have their main guy going. That’s what we’ll try and do,” said coach Randy Carlyle. “We’ll go with the guy that’s going to give us the best chance at success.”

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com